Shapes Of Things To Come
by Stryker formal
Summary: Marauders era, filled with pranks, mysteries and romance of the Lily/James kind. I'm not very good at summaries, so just see for yourself D


It was after midnight when the marauders knew that their prank would have to be postponed.

The concept of waiting was unheard of to James and Sirius. The two were restless as it was in the limbo between their last prank and planning the next one. But, as they sat in the haunted second-floor girls lavatory in the wee hours of the morning, the Marauders were not allowed their usual privacy.

"It is a bit of overkill," Remus had mentioned two years earlier when they first discovered none of the girls wanted to share a restroom with Moaning Myrtle. "We could come here at lunch and still not get caught. Or we could go to a boys lavatory at one in the morning to plan. Merlin's beard, we could stay in our bloody dorm room."

But privacy was only half the reason. It was the thrill of sneaking out and the thrill of being somewhere they shouldn't all in one. Essentially, James and Sirius were addicted to breaking the rules. Remus and Peter would always follow along.

So, there they were, at 12:30 in the morning planning. Sirius had finally convinced Myrtle (or "Marvelous Myrtle", as he had taken to calling her with a wink) to retire to her drain pipe for the night.

"Slime them?" Peter suggested from his spot on the floor.

"We slimed the Slytherins two pranks ago, Wormtail," James groaned with an eye roll, leaning casually against the sink. "We can't let them think that we, the infamous Marauders, are losing our spark."

"That our flourish is fading!" Sirius jumped in happily from his place next to James.

"Our mischief mundane!"

"Our pride puttering!"

"Our glory gone!"

"Our daring dampened!"

"Never!" They two said loudly, with wild gestures punctuating each sentence.

"Not that your alliterations aren't innovative and wildly entertaining, perhaps we should put your creativity into the plan?" Remus pointed out, smiling. He was sitting on the counter with a notebook out- a habit that caused the others to call him "the secretary". Padfoot and Prongs seemed to have more energy in the middle of the night than the day time.

Sirius clapped him on the back, and James ruffled his brown hair. "I knew there was a reason we kept you around!"

"What would we do without our dear Moony, Padfoot?"

"Oh we would still _do_, no doubt, but not as well, as grand, as…"

"Uncaught?"

"Yes! Uncaught is exactly what I'm looking for Prongs!"

And, as if on cue, the girls bathroom door burst open.

Not one of the Marauders would admit it after, but they had never been more scared in their lives when that door opened. To be caught, not for a prank or a duel with honor, but sneaking into the girls lavatory at night? Word traveled fast at Hogwarts. Even if it wasn't a teacher, a student could do just as much damage to their reputation. Peter even peed a little.

Oddly, the girl who came through the door barely even noticed them. She ran straight to a stall, too quickly for any of them to identify her, and promptly began to puke.

The four stared at the stall in open-mouthed shock. It was Remus who first filled the silence (well, relative silence- the heaving had become white noise).

"Should… should we help her?  
"We need to get out before we get in trouble!" Wormtail squeaked nervously, his small watery eyes shifted around. "Whoever she is, she hasn't seen us yet!"

"We can't just leave the poor girl here," James, who had recovered from the shock and fear, argued.

"It would be un-Gryffindor like," Sirius, ever the proud, practically puffed his chest.

"A compromise then," Remus suggested, "we take her to the hospital wing anonymously."

"No… hospital wing!" The girl yelled between heaves.

Sirius smiled mischievously, "Sounds like someone snuck themselves too much firewhiskey."

"On a Tuesday?" Peter asked.

"Since when does the time of the week mean anything?"

"Just _go!_"

"And abandon a plastered young woman in distress? Who possibly still has firewhiskey?" James had a look of false concern on his face.

"Seriously!"

"Well, she _did_ call my name."

"Merlin's piss pot," the toilette flushed, "The Marauders."

She emerged from the stall, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. It was Amaranthea Jones, a Gryffindor fifth year, one year below the. She was most well known as a generally odd but well-kept girl. Amaranthea looked completely unlike herself. Her Mahogany hair was greasy, frizzy, and looked tangled. Dark eyes were heavy lidded and glassy. She looked sweaty and her legs were shaking as she clutched at her book bag.

Sirius took action, rushing to support her arm. He tried to lead her to the sink, but she shook her head. "I need to sit."

Amaranthea propped herself against the wall, sliding down slowly. "You should really leave," She muttered, pulling her arm back, "This is the girl's lavatory."

"Nonsense," James scolded, "Where would you be without-"

Amaranthea cut him off with a gasp. Her back arched, and her eyes went out of focus, and she began talking rapidly.

"One moon… two moon... he didn't see the second moon… the wolf in sheep's clothing… left unchained… guardians unwarned… student out of bed- RUN!"

Her body shuddered. James stepped forward, but she continued to talk.

"Double double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble… ha ha … Lily … Potter … oh…" A twitch, a shift, and silence.

"Is- is she dead?" Peter whispered.

"You moron, I'm alive," Amaranthea's voice was too scratchy for her words to actually be insulting.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" James asked tentatively. All of the boys weren't sure what to do- taking care of a girl with some kind of mental issue was hardly their forte.

"Did you listen to what I said… you know… before?"

"Yes."

"Then help yourself. Double check the moon charts, wolf-boy."

Sirius and James became visibly defensive. Remus' face lost what little colour it had. Amaranthea did not appear to notice. She was looking frantically in her bag, and the sound of glass clinking emitted from it. Her hands were still shaking, and her forehead was creased. Whatever Amaranthea was looking for must have been important; a slew of curses streamed from her lips.

Finally, with a sigh, she pulled out a small glass vial filled with a blue liquid. Amaranthea tried to pull the stopper out, but her hands shook too much.

"Damn it!" Frustrated, she threw it down. Remus winced, expecting it to crash, but instead the vial rolled directly to Sirius' feet.

Amaranthea's cheeks burned. "I need that," she demanded, voice clearer, but she winced at the sound and rubbed her temples.

Sirius picked it up curiously. "Maybe you shouldn't have thrown it, then."

"It's for migraines… please. It just gets worse." With any other person, this would have sounded helpless fragile. Amaranthea just sounded bossy.

"Not until you tell us how you knew about Remus'… furry little problem."

"Give her the bottle," Moony said, and Sirius, Peter and James shot him such incredulous looks he blushed. "I hate migraines." He mumbled.

Sirius paused, but then removed the stopper and handed her the vial. She drank it quickly, and judging by the look on her face, it wasn't pleasant.

"I knew about Remus being a werewolf because…" Her voice trailed off, and her face was conflicted.

"Amaranthea?" James prompted.

"Call me Thea. And… I see things. Visions." Thea got up.

"Wait, we have more questions-"

"Piss off, Prongs. You should get to bed." Face burning, Amaranthea practically sprinted out of the girls Lavatory.


End file.
